USA Today
State unemployment agencies are gearing up to resume sending unemployment payments to millions of people as Congress moves to ship President Obama a measure to restore lapsed benefits.
After months of increasingly bitter stalemate, the Senate passed the measure Wednesday by a 59-39 vote. Obama is poised to sign the measure into law after a final House vote scheduled for today.
It's a welcome relief to 2½ million people who have been out of work for six months or more and have seen their benefits lapse.
Under best-case scenarios, unemployed people who have been denied jobless benefits because of a partisan Senate standoff over renewing them can expect retroactive payments as early as next week in some states.
In other states, it will take longer, possibly as long as six weeks.
State unemployment and labor agencies have been preparing for weeks for Congress to restore jobless payments averaging $309 a week for almost 5 million people whose 26 weeks of state benefits have run out. Those people are enrolled in a federally financed program providing up to 73 additional weeks of unemployment benefits.
About half of those eligible have had their benefits cut off since funding expired June 2. They are eligible for lump-sum retroactive payments that are typically delivered directly to their bank accounts or credited to state-issued debit cards.
The Senate continued debating the measure a full day after a GOP filibuster was defeated by a 60-40 vote. Senate rules required 30 hours of debate.
Democrats tout the economy-boosting effect of unemployment checks because most beneficiaries spend them immediately, and they say that paying for them with cuts to other programs dilutes the stimulative effect.
"Extending unemployment insurance isn't just the right thing to do. It's also the smart thing to do for our economy," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Economists say the measure will likely have a modest beneficial effect on the economy. It represents less than one-quarter of 1% of the size of the $14.6 trillion economy and is far smaller than last year's $862 billion stimulus legislation.
Republicans have blocked Democratic add-ons, such as aid to state governments, that could have meant a greater economic boost.
After months of increasingly bitter stalemate, the Senate passed the measure Wednesday by a 59-39 vote. Obama is poised to sign the measure into law after a final House vote scheduled for today.
It's a welcome relief to 2½ million people who have been out of work for six months or more and have seen their benefits lapse.
Under best-case scenarios, unemployed people who have been denied jobless benefits because of a partisan Senate standoff over renewing them can expect retroactive payments as early as next week in some states.
In other states, it will take longer, possibly as long as six weeks.
State unemployment and labor agencies have been preparing for weeks for Congress to restore jobless payments averaging $309 a week for almost 5 million people whose 26 weeks of state benefits have run out. Those people are enrolled in a federally financed program providing up to 73 additional weeks of unemployment benefits.
About half of those eligible have had their benefits cut off since funding expired June 2. They are eligible for lump-sum retroactive payments that are typically delivered directly to their bank accounts or credited to state-issued debit cards.
The Senate continued debating the measure a full day after a GOP filibuster was defeated by a 60-40 vote. Senate rules required 30 hours of debate.
Democrats tout the economy-boosting effect of unemployment checks because most beneficiaries spend them immediately, and they say that paying for them with cuts to other programs dilutes the stimulative effect.
"Extending unemployment insurance isn't just the right thing to do. It's also the smart thing to do for our economy," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Economists say the measure will likely have a modest beneficial effect on the economy. It represents less than one-quarter of 1% of the size of the $14.6 trillion economy and is far smaller than last year's $862 billion stimulus legislation.
Republicans have blocked Democratic add-ons, such as aid to state governments, that could have meant a greater economic boost.
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